Osprey rescued after being stuck upside down in tree on Anna Maria Island

BRADENTON BEACH -- The West Manatee Fire Rescue and a Bradenton Beach official joined forces Wednesday to rescue an osprey stuck upside down in a tree on the south end of Coquina Beach.

Bradenton Beach Commissioner Edward Straight, 76, said he received a call around 7:30 a.m. Wednesday about the bird. Straight operates Wildlife Inc., a nonprofit education and rehabilitation center, with his wife, Gail Straight.

Straight said he initially thought the bird was tangled in a fishing line but its right leg had gotten wedged in the fork of a branch.

"I'm thinking it was about 80 feet up in the air, out on a limb. ... one of our volunteers does climb trees but this was far enough up and out that you couldn't get to it by climbing a tree," Straight said. "No way. It was out on a branch."

West Manatee firefighters were contacted for help because the osprey was too high for Straight to reach on his own.

According to West Manatee Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Rich Jasinski , the agency's ladder truck was just about to go into annual maintenance.

"We went to get that back, which is not a big deal," he said. "We picked that up and went out to the south end of the beach where a crowd of people was looking at the bird and snapping photos."

Dressed in safety gear, Straight was raised up on the ladder to reach the osprey, who by then had injured its left wing from flapping it against another branch.

"Ospreys have very sharp talons, so if you're not used to handling a bird of prey like that, you could really get hurt," Straight said. "He's strong enough to go right through those safety gloves. I made sure to get ahold of him before he got me first."

Straight said about 10 vultures were circling above.

"I don't know if they came to help, but they were up there," he said with a chuckle. "Maybe they were out there looking for some red tide fish."

Battalion Chief Jasinski said he's brought a couple rescued birds to Straight for rehab.

"It's good to have someone like him -- local," he said of Straight. "Everything worked pretty flawlessly. ... It was pretty quick and we're glad to be there and we're glad to help."

After being rescued from the tree, the osprey was sent to Straight's rehabilitation center where it will rehab for the next five days or so.

"It was an unusual thing to happen, really, for such a strong bird," he added. "We're really fortunate to have West Manatee help us because this is not the first time this has happened. ... They've helped us a number of times in the past with things like this."

Amaris Castillo, law enforcement/island reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7051. Follow her on Twitter@AmarisCastillo.

This story was originally published November 11, 2015 at 9:15 PM with the headline "Osprey rescued after being stuck upside down in tree on Anna Maria Island ."